p •a •t •h •f •i •n •d •e •r

R ov ing on the R e d P l a n e t

Na t i o n a l A e ro n a u t i c s a n d
S p a c e A d mi n i st ra t i o n
Return to Mars!
As explorers, pioneers, and innovators, we boldly expand frontiers in air and
space to inspire and serve America and to benefit the quality of life on Earth.
NASA Vision Statement
NASA Strategic Plan
From the beginning of time, humans have looked up at the heavens and wondered
what lay beyond the world that we know. Over time, we have learned much about
the universe and our place within it, but much remains to be explored. The questions
are among the most profound that we face: How did the universe form? Are there
planets like Earth around other stars? How did life arise on Earth? Has it ever
existed elsewhere in our solar system or elsewhere in the universe? What can we
learn about other planets that will help us to understand our own? What else can
we learn about our own planet? Will humans ever leave Earth for another planet—
and why? and when?
These are the questions that occupy the people of NASA and shape our work. Our
unique contribution to this undertaking is the perspective that we offer from the air
and from space. By sending airplanes, spacecraft, rockets, and people into the
heavens, we not only open new frontiers, we tap into fundamental streams of
knowledge and discovery. This produces information not only to enrich the soul and
the mind, but also to guide our decisions and make us wiser stewards of our home.
We explore space because it is exciting, because it challenges us to be our best,
and because it makes practical sense. Exploration and discovery are, as they always
have been for humanity, the pathways to our future.
Most recently, we have focused attention on one of the most intriguing places we
know of: Mars. Of all the planets in the solar system, Mars is the most like Earth.
Although Mars has a thinner atmosphere than Earth, it also has weather seasons
and an Earth-like day (called a sol) lasting 24 hours, 37 minutes. Mars also has
a diverse and complex surface, including ice and winding channels made by
flowing water in the distant past. Although the present cold, dry conditions on
Mars are considered hostile for life forms, scientists have evidence that Mars was
once warmer and wetter and had a much denser atmosphere early in its
history. Life may have arisen in ancient Martian lakes or springs. If so, fossil
evidence of life might be found.
Mars was not always the dry wasteland that it is now. Billions of years ago, early
Mars may have been very similar to early Earth, with flowing water and possibly
even seas. Understanding why the two planets evolved from that point to the very
different states we see today can tell us much about what makes Earth such a unique
and special place. Exploring Mars will provide us with a better understanding of
significant events humanity may face in the future as Earth continues to evolve. What
are the factors involved in natural changes in a planet‘s climate and weather, for
instance? Such exploration will also tell us if Mars is a place where humans may
someday be able—and want—to live and work.
Mars has experienced a complicated geologic history. On its surface are vast
expanses of sand dunes, gorges, polar ice caps, huge volcanoes, and gigantic
canyons. The giant Olympus Mons volcano is three times as tall as Mt. Everest and
larger than Montana; it’s the largest volcano in the solar system. Valles Marineris
is three times as deep and ten times as long as the Grand Canyon. With a land
area equal to Earth’s, Mars offers a potential wealth of natural resources. The
essentials for life support, including air and water, can be found or manufactured
there. These resources will be essential for humans to live and work on Mars as
we continue to explore the Red Planet.
There are many questions to be answered and many challenges to be met. Our
explorers will first be robotic—unmanned spacecraft, landers, and rovers. These
mechanical descendants of Magellan and Lewis and Clark—designed to scout ahead
—will probe the soil, measure the atmosphere, map the surface, and gradually
understand the lay of the land. Using this information, we will decide together if the next
step is to sends humans and how best to do so. Like solving a riddle, exploring another
planet is an ongoing series of steps, not a one-shot deal.
This is an exciting time to be alive, and to be explorers. As we send missions to Mars—
and elsewhere in the universe—all are welcome and encouraged to go along for the ride.
Mars Pathfinder
Mars Pathfinder is the first of these trailblazers. The first spacecraft to set down on
Mars since the two Viking Landers in 1976, Mars Pathfinder is a mission to test
key technologies for future science missions. It is the first ever to send out a robotic
rover to independently explore the surface of Mars. Launched on December 4,
1996, Mars Pathfinder took seven months to reach Mars, and then successfully
landed in a region known as Ares Vallis (Mars Valley) on July 4, 1997. The
lander unfolded and a small rover, named Sojourner (after the American
abolitionist, Sojourner Truth), rolled onto the Martian soil.
Mars Pathfinder also delivered science instruments to the surface of Mars to
investigate the structure of the Martian atmosphere, weather, surface geology, and
elemental composition of Martian rocks and soil. The Mars Pathfinder project is one
of the first of the NASA Discovery program, which offers a class of frequent, low-
cost space missions and is part of a long-term program of Mars exploration being
conducted by NASA’s Office of Space Science. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, an
operating division of the California Institute of Technology, manages the Mars
Exploration Program for NASA.
Mars Pathfinder Mission Objectives
• Prove that it is possible to successfully deploy ”faster, better, and cheaper“ spacecraft
(three years for development and cost under $150 million)
• Demonstrate a simple, low-cost system, at fixed price, for placing a science payload
on the surface of Mars at one-fifteenth the Viking price tag
• Exhibit NASA‘s commitment to low-cost planetary exploration by completing the
mission for a total of $280 million dollars, including the launch vehicle and
mission operations
• Demonstrate the mobility and usefulness of a microrover on the surface of Mars
Mission Operation and Science
Mars Pathfinder is investigating the surface of Mars with three primary science
instruments. On the lander are a stereoscopic imager with spectral filters on an
extendable mast known as the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) and the
Atmospheric Structure Instrument/Meteorology package (ASI/MET), which acts as
a Martian weather station, gathering pressure, temperature, and wind
measurements. On the rover is the Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer (APXS), which
measures the elements present in rocks and soil. Sojourner also has one color and
two black-and-white cameras. These instruments allow investigations of the
geology and surface characteristics at scales of a few millimeters up to hundreds
of meters, the geochemistry and evolutionary history of soils and rocks, the
magnetic and mechanical properties of the soil as well as the magnetic properties
of the dust, the atmosphere, and the rotational and orbital dynamics of Mars.
Downstream from the mouth of a giant catastrophic outflow channel, this landing site
offers the potential for the identification and analysis of a wide variety of crustal
materials, from the ancient, heavily cratered terrains, to intermediate-aged ridged
plains, to reworked channel deposits. Sojourner‘s mobility provides the capability of
“ground truthing” a landing area over hundreds of square meters on Mars.
Examinations of the different surface materials are allowing first-order scientific
investigations of the early differentiation and evolution of the crust, the development of
weathering products, and the early environments and conditions that have existed on Mars.
Mars Pathfinder Science Objectives
• Surface morphology and geology at meter scale
• Petrology and geochemistry of surface materials
• Magnetic properties and soil mechanics of the surface
• Atmospheric structure, as well as diurnal and seasonal meteorological variations
• Rotational and orbital dynamics of Mars
Entry, Descent, and Landing

Mars Pathfinder‘s dramatic entry, descent, and landing worked exactly as

engineers had designed, placing the lander and rover safely onto the surface.
The sequence of events included the use of a heat shield and a large parachute,
the lowering of the lander on a bridle, the use of a radar altimeter to tell the
lander how far it was from the surface, rockets to stop the lander in mid-air, and
giant airbags to cushion its fall after the parachute and backshell detached.
Amazingly, this entire process—from entry into the atmosphere to landing—took
just a little over four minutes.

Mars Pathfinder Lander

Once Mars Pathfinder came to rest, the airbags deflated with the lander resting
on its base, and the three lander petals unfolded. It was early morning when the
lander arrived on Mars (about 3:00 a.m. local time), so the lander waited for the
Sun to rise to begin sending data to Earth. During its first day on Mars (known as
Sol 1), the lander took pictures and made weather measurements. It also lifted up
one of its petals and pulled in more of a deflated airbag so that the airbag would
not block the deployment of the rover’s ramps.
The Next Day

On Sol 2, Sojourner rolled down its ramp and onto Martian soil. Over the next
several sols, Sojourner visited rocks named Barnacle Bill, Yogi, and Scooby Doo
by the scientists. The rover also made measurements of the elements found in
these rocks and in the Martian soil. The lander photographed Sojourner and the
Mars Pathfinder‘s Sojourner Rover
surrounding “marscape” and made weather observations. The Mars Pathfinder
mission exceeded all of its mission objectives and has sent back important data
and beautiful views of Ares Vallis.

Sojourner Truth

The name Sojourner was chosen for the Mars Pathfinder rover after
a year-long, worldwide competition in which students up to 18
years old were invited to select a heroine and submit an essay
about her historical accomplishments. The students were asked to
address in their essays how a planetary rover named for their
heroine would translate these accomplishments to the Martian
environment.

Valerie Ambroise, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, submitted the

winning essay about Sojourner Truth, an African-American
reformist who lived during the Civil War era. An abolitionist and
champion of women‘s rights, Sojourner Truth, whose legal name
was Isabella Van Wagenen, made it her mission to ”travel up and
down the land,“ advocating the rights of all people to be free and
the rights of women to participate fully in society. The name
Sojourner also means ”traveler.“
A New Era of Mars Exploration

Mars Pathfinder is the first in a series of spacecraft that will visit the Red Planet over
the next decade. This exciting program of exploration is designed to send low-cost
spacecraft to Mars every 26 months from 1996 to 2005. Each mission will build on
the work done by its predecessors and will use the latest technology to revolutionize
our understanding of the planet and its evolution. We are working closely with other
nations on joint efforts that will expand the range of science data we can obtain.
Ultimately, all this information will help us answer exciting questions about life on
Mars and whether to send human explorers to the Red Planet. Upcoming U.S.
missions include:
2005: Mars Sample Return Mission. This exciting and ambitious mission
will descend to the surface, collect the samples acquired by either the ’01 or
’03 mission rover, and then blast off and return the sample back to the Earth for
study by 2008.
Beyond 2005: These missions will be determined by what we learn and what
we still need to know. The journey will continue. . . .

September 1997: Mars Global Surveyor (launched in November 1996)

will orbit Mars and maps the planet’s surface and atmosphere. It will look for
evidence of surface water, study surface geology and structure, and examine
changes in Martian weather for at least one Martian year (a little less than two Earth years).

1998–99: Mars Surveyor ’98 Lander and Orbiter. The lander will set
down near the edge of Mars’ south polar cap and focus on studies of geology,
weather, and past and present water resources. Before touchdown, it will
release two microprobes that will drop into the soil to search for the presence of
subsurface water. The orbiter will examine the atmosphere and changes in
water vapor during the Martian seasons.

2001: Mars Surveyor ’01 Lander and Orbiter. The lander will carry a
rover capable of traveling dozens of kilometers to gather surface dust and soil
samples. There will also be tests of our ability to produce rocket propellant using
Martian rocks and soil as raw materials. The orbiter will study the mineralogy and
chemistry of the surface, including the identification of water resources just below
the Martian surface.

2003: Mars Surveyor ’03 Lander and Orbiter. This lander will also
carry a wide-ranging rover to collect samples from a different part of the planet.
The orbiter will provide the complex links needed for communications and
navigation for this and future surface missions.
Mars Facts

Fourth Planet From the Sun

Distance From the Sun: Minimum: 206,000,000 kilometers Atmosphere: Thin, unbreathable
Average: 228,000,000 kilometers Surface pressure: ~6 millibars, or about 1/200th
(1.52 times as far as Earth) of Earth’s
Maximum: 249,000,000 kilometers Contains 95% carbon dioxide, 3% nitrogen,
1.5% argon, ~0.03% water (varies with season),
Eccentricity of Orbit: 0.093 vs. 0.017 for Earth (0.00 is a perfectly no oxygen. (Earth has 78% nitrogen, 21%
circular orbit) oxygen, 1% argon, 0.03% carbon dioxide.)
Dusty, which makes the sky pinkish. Planet-
Distance From Earth: Minimum: 56,000,000 kilometers wide dust storms black out the sky.
Maximum: 399,000,000 kilometers
Surface: Color: Rust red
Year: 1.88 Earth years = 669.3 Mars days (sols) = Ancient landscapes dominated by impact craters
686.7 Earth days Largest volcano in the solar system (Olympus Mons)
Largest canyon in the solar system (Valles Marineris)
Day: 24.6 Earth hours Ancient river channels
Some rocks are basalt (dark lava rocks); most
Tilt of Rotation Axis: 25.2° vs. 23.5° for Earth others unknown
Dust is reddish, rusty, like soil formed from volcanic
Size: Diameter = 6,794 kilometers vs. rock
12,756 kilometers for Earth Moons: Phobos (“Fear”), 21 kilometers diameter
Surface Gravity: 0.38 (or ~1/3) Earth’s gravity Deimos (“Panic”), 12 kilometers diameter
26 26
Mass: 6.4 x 10 grams vs. 59.8 x 10 grams
for Earth
Density: 3.9 grams/cc vs. 5.5 grams/cc for Earth

Surface Temperature: Cold

Global extremes: –125°C (–190°F) to 25°C (75°F)
Average at Viking 1 site: high –10°C (15°F);
low –90°C (–135°F)
Activity 1: “Old, Relatively”

For exploring Mars, it is important to know which events happened in which order
and which areas are older than others. A simple way of figuring out the sequence
of events is “superposition”—most of the time, younger things are on top of older
things, and younger (more recent) events affect older things.
To discover the history of this region, start by listing all the landscape features you
can see, and the events that caused them (do not bother listing every small crater
by itself). Now list the events in order from oldest to youngest. [Hints: How many
separate landslides are there? Is the large crater (“C”) younger than the landslides?
Are the landslides younger than the rock layers at the top of the canyon wall? Are
the small craters older or younger than the landslides?] Sometimes, you cannot tell
which of two events was younger. What additional information would help you tell?
—(From A.H. Treiman, Lunar and Planetary Institute, 1997)

Activity 2: “Geography and Mission Planning”

These locations on Mars were considered by mission planners as possible landing

sites for the two Viking landing craft.
Latitude Longitude
To learn more about this image, visit the World Wide Web site at:
22°N 48°W (Viking Site)
http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/education/K12/gangis/mars1.html 20°N 108°E
44°N 10°W
Superposition in Your Life 7°S 43°W
46°N 150°W (Viking Site)
Is there a pile of stuff on your desk? On your teacher’s? On a table or floor at home? 44°N 110°W
Where in the pile is the thing you used most recently? The thing next most recently? 5°S 5°W
Where in the pile would you look for something you put down 10 minutes ago? When
If Martians sent spacecraft to these same latitudes and longitudes on Earth, what
was the last time you or your teacher or parent used the things at the bottom of the pile? would they find? Would they find life or evidence of an advanced civilization? Use
a globe or world map to identify these spots on Earth. Use geography reference
Superposition on Mars books to describe what the Martians would see at each site.
Using superposition, we can sort out many of the complicated events in the history
of Mars. For example, you can sort out all the events that affected the area in the If you were a Martian, why would you explore Earth? Does Earth have resources you might
image above. It is a small part (60 kilometers across) of the wall of the great need? What would you want to know about Earth? Where would you land first and why?
canyon system of Valles Marineris. Toward the top is a high plateau (labeled “P”), —(From B.M. French, The Viking Discoveries, NASA EP-146, October 1977)
with a large circular impact crater (“C”). It formed when a huge meteorite hit Mars’
surface. Below the plateau is the wall of Valles Marineris. Here, the wall has been For Reference: Mars Map
cut away by huge landslides (“L”), which leave bumpy rough land at the base of U.S. Geological Survey (1991) Topographic Maps of Polar, Western, and Eastern
the wall and a thin, broad fan of dirt spreading out onto the canyon floor. In the Regions of Mars, U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Map I-2160.
canyon wall, almost at its top, alternating layers of light and dark rock are exposed. USGS Information Services,1-800-USA-MAPS
Image Caption Web Sites

This image is a portion of a full-color, 360-degree panorama of Ares Vallis Mars

(Mars Valley), where Mars Pathfinder landed on July 4, 1997. Visible next to a
rock named Yogi is the rover Sojourner. She has backed up to Yogi and has Ames Center for Mars Exploration http://cmex-www.arc.nasa.gov/
placed the Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer instrument against the rock to Lunar and Planetary Institute http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/expmars/expmars.html
determine its elemental composition. Yogi is approximately 6.5 meters (20 feet) Mars Multi-Scale Map http://www.c3.lanl.gov/~cjhamil/Browse/mars.html
from the Mars Pathfinder lander and stands about 1 meter (3 feet) high. Mars Landing Sites http://www.mars-sites.arc.nasa.gov/
Sojourner is 30 centimeters (1 foot) tall. Marls Global Surveyor Project http://mgs-www.jpl.nasa.gov/
Mars Pathfinder Project http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/
In the lower left corner of the image is the ramp that Sojourner used to roll off Mars K–12 Curriculum Guide http://esther.la.asu.edu/asu_tes/TES_Editor/
the lander petal and onto the Martian soil. To the right is a portion of the (Arizona State University) CURRIC_GUIDES/curric_guideMENU.html
deflated airbag from the adjacent petal. Sojourner’s tracks across the soil are Mars Surveyor Orbiter http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/databse/
plainly visible and are darker than the undisturbed soil. www-nmc?MARS98S
Mars Surveyor Lander http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/
A dusting of very fine-grained material is also seen on a number of the rocks in database/www-nmc?MARS98L
the view. Dust finer than talcum powder has gathered to the left of Barnacle Bill, Viking Orbiter Image Archive http://barsoom.mss.com/http/vikingdb.html
the pitted football-shaped and -sized rock just above the end of the ramp. Dust Viking Lander Image Data http://www-pdsimage.jpl.nasa.gov/PDS/
particles suspended in the thin Martian atmosphere give the sky its color. public/viking/vl_images.html

At one time in Mars’ past, a large amount of water rushed across this area. The
Tours of the Solar System
direction of flow was to the north, which is toward the upper right corner of this
picture. The flood waters cut a series of gullies in the plain. A trek across this
Views of the Solar System http://bang.lanl.gov/solarsys/
“marscape" toward the horizon would carry you up and down a series of hills and valleys.
(Calvin Hamilton/Los Alamos)
The Nine Planets http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/
On the horizon can be seen two hills nicknamed the Twin Peaks. They are about
(Bill Arnett/SEDS) nineplanets.html
1 kilometer (0.6 mile) away. To their right is the rock known as the Couch, more
Welcome to the Planets (JPL) http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/
than 150 meters (500 feet) away.
NASA Spacelink http://spacelink.nasa.gov
Planetary Photo Journal http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov
Images and other data from Mars Pathfinder are relayed via the antennas of NASA’s
Deep Space Network. With stations in Spain, Australia, and California, contact with Education
the lander is possible whenever it is on the near side of Mars. Each day, controllers
send commands and receive scientific and engineering data when Earth is above the NASA On-line Resources for http://www.hq.nasa.gov/education
Educators
Martian horizon at the Ares Vallis landing site.
Lunar and Planetary Institute http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/lpi.html
More About Mars

Books
Beatty, J.K., and A. Chaikin, eds. (1990) The New Solar System, Third Edition,
Sky Publishing Corp., Cambridge.
Carr, M.H. (1981) The Surface of Mars, Yale University Press, New Haven. A
highly readable account of our knowledge of Mars at the end of the Viking program.
Viking Lander Imaging Team (1978) The Martian Landscape, NASA SP-425. A
compilation of photographs obtained by the Viking Landers.
Viking Orbiter Imaging Team (1980) Viking Orbiter Views of Mars, NASA SP-441.
A compilation of photographs obtained by the Viking Orbiters.
Wilford, J.N. (1990) Mars Beckons, Alfred A. Knopf, New York.

Christiansen, E.H., and W.K. Hamblin (1995) Exploring the Planets, Second
Edition, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
Cooper, H.S.F. (1980) The Search for Life On Mars: Evolution of an Idea, Holt,
Rinehart, and Winston, New York.
Lowell, P. (1895) Mars, Houghton, Mifflin, Boston, New York. Percival
Lowell’s fascinating, passionate, and highly erroneous interpretations of his
longtime observations of Mars. Especially interesting when read with
Sheehan’s Planets & Perception.
Science Fiction
Since telescopes first revealed seasonal color changes on Mars, Earthlings have
been fascinated with the possibility of life on the Red Planet. These classics
(among hundreds of others) trace human notions of Martian “society” through
the 20th century and hold up a mirror to the concerns and crises of our own.
Bradbury, Ray (1950) The Martian Chronicles, various publishers.
Heinlein, Robert (1986) Red Planet, Del Ray Books, Ballantine.

Murray, B. (1989) Journey Into Space: The First Thirty Years of Space Exploration, Wells, H.G. (1898) The War of the Worlds, various editions, various publishers.
W.W. Norton, New York. Describes humankind’s robotic exploration of Mars
and the rest of the solar system, as witnessed by this former director of the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory.

Sheehan, W. (1988) Planets & Perception: Telescopic Views and Interpretations,

1609–1909, University of Arizona Press, Tucson. An introduction to the physical,
social, and psychological pitfalls of observing distant worlds, especially Mars.
This makes an excellent companion to Lowell’s Mars.

Sheehan, W. (1996) The Planet Mars: A History of Observation and Discovery,

University of Arizona Press, Tucson. A popular history of discoveries and ideas about
Mars, emphasizing the era of visual and telescopic observations. EW-1997-08-128-HQ